The U.S. Senate confirmed Vice Adm. Paul F. Zukunft to the rank of admiral and appointed him to be the 25th Commandant of the United States Coast Guard, May 14. The confirmation was approved by unanimous consent.
“Since I became Secretary, I have had the opportunity to get to know Vice Admiral Zukunft, and if confirmed he will be a great leader for the future of the Coast Guard,” wrote Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson in a February all hands email to DHS personnel. “As a 37 year veteran of the U.S. Coast Guard, he has demonstrated this leadership while serving in a number of different capacities, including coordinating federal response to the Deepwater Horizon Spill. During the response, Vice Admiral Zukunft directed more than 47,000 responders, 6,500 vessels and 120 aircraft as the Coast Guard worked to respond to and recover from the largest oil spill in U.S. history.”
Zukunft most recently commanded U.S. Coast Guard Pacific Area and is a graduate of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy. He holds advanced degrees from the U.S. Naval War College and Webster University.
Zukunft will assume the role of commandant, currently held by Adm. Bob Papp, at a change of command ceremony May 30, 2014.
